the_avenue_soapfandomcom-20200214-history
Episode 1 (S01E01): Friday 3rd April 2020
Release Date This episode was published on Friday 1st September 2019 on the Writers Express forum, although the episode itself is set on Friday 3rd April 2020. It was written by Chloe and Ross, and the first episode to be co-written. Episode Synopsis Brand new serial drama following the trials and tribulations of Catford Grove, a fictional subrurb of Lewisham, SE London. Rory's revelation provokes different reactions from his parents, Ethan and Jacqui finally face up to Maria, and a familiar face turns the Brannigans upside down Plot The very fir st episode opens with publicans Charlie and wife Leyla waking up an hour early in their flat above The Red Lion pub they run, because Leyla mistakenly set the alarm one hour early. They discuss planning that day's quiz night, as well as the impending birth of their third and final child, with whom Leyla is eight months pregnant. At the Brannigans', Michael tries to encourage chainsmoking wife Linda to switch to vaping, but she is more concerned about granddaughter Ruby, who is not responding to the texts and calls of estranged mother Yasmin, despite today being her 20th birthday. Yasmin is also trying to contact Ruby's father, Johnny, but he is also uncontactable. At Castle News, their business, husband and wife Darcus and Trish chat to a passing Ethan, their eldest son, who only recently returned from a long stint in Grays, Essex with wife Jackie and son Marley. Trish strongarms him into inviting to Jackie to join her and Darcus at the Red Lion quiz night tonight, but Darcus suspects she is up to something. After Ethan leaves, Trish admits to Darcus she is suspicious of the 'real' reason Ethan, Jackie and Marley moved back to Catford Grove, and she intends to use tonight to find out. At the Carwells, mum Amanda teases son Steven about a thank you text he received that she assumes is from a fling of his the previous night. Steven is coy about it, and all that is revealed is the text is from 'R'. Once Amanda leaves for work, Steven texts the mystery person back with a reciprocal message. Leyla discourages teenage daughter Jess from getting romantically involved with long-term male friend Perry, advising that they should focus on their GCSEs and think about love once their exams are out of the way. However, Jess brushes Leyla's concerns off and pretends to be ignorant of her parents' theories. Once Jess heads off to school, her elder brother Rory joins Leyla in the living room, admitting he needs to talk to her and Charlie, just as Charlie joins them. He reveals he is gay. Charlie is embarrassed and makes excuses to take the dog Bella out for a walk, to Leyla's chagrin. Rory then explains to Leyla alone that his sexuality is pretty much an open secret, but that he wanted to tell his parents now because there is an event on at the uni tomorrow organised by Lewisham Pride, and as he will ostensibly be the face of it, he will probably appear in local media and he did not want his parents to find out that way. Leyla is supportive, and asks if Rory is seeing anyone. Rory admits that he is, and that his lover is quite a bit older than he is, but does not want to say any more than that at this stage. An exasperated Yasmin gets off the phone to Johnny. He does not go in to specifics but he tells Yasmin he and Ruby have had issues lately and he does not know where she is. Linda encourages Michael to ring Ruby as he is her granddad and she thinks the world of him, but Michael is hesitant to interfere in Yasmin's problems. Having put it off since they moved back to the area, Ethan and Jacqui finally face up to Maria, the proprietor of local eatery Nosh. They give Maria a vague story about difficulties relating to Ethan's work in Essex for the police forcing him and Jacqui to move back to the grove. The history between the three of them is not revealed, only that there is history and that Ethan and Jackie want to put it behind them, and would like for Maria to do the same. Maria is cool but concilliatory, advising them that they are welcome at the café , albeit aloofly. An emotional Maria later confides in husband Vik about it all, and VIk promises to have a word with Ethan, just to make sure he is 'on the level' about everything. At school, Jess and Perry have an ambiguous conversation about how close they are as friends. Both try to be warm and polite about it, but Jess remains optimistic. Later, when they are alone at the Castles', Jess admits she does have feelings for Perry. Not wanting to hurt her and not sure how he feels anyway, he promises a sated Jess that he will think about it, before the two of them get back to revising. Charlie and Bella bump into Steven on the riverbank, and the two get chatting. Charlie reveals all about Rory coming out earlier, and how badly he handled it. Steven persuades Charlie to face up to it sooner rather than later, to which Charlie concedes. At a family meal, Steven's paternal grandmother Doris notices that he is a bit quiet, though he plays this down. The conversation then moves on to Doris going to the quiz night, but daughter-in-law Amanda is reluctant for her to go on her own, as according to the local paper there has been a spate of muggings recently. It is suggested that Steven chapperone Doris to The Red Lion, since he works there anyway and has a shift tonight. At local bar Call The Shots, bar staff Alex and Izzie are talking. Even though Alex is in a relationship with the bar's co-proprietor, Nikhila, it becomes obvious from the conversation that he and Izzie are having an affair. He worries that things are getting to heavy between him and Izzie, but she plays this down and says they just enjoy each other's company and are having fun, to which Alex agrees. Leyla is cool with Charlie once he gets back from walking the dog, but he admits the real reason he was funny about Rory revealing he was gay earlier - Charlie already knew. Charlie admits he overheard Jess and Rory talking about it last week, but didn't want to say anything because it wasn't his secret to tell, and he did not want to pretend to be shocked. Charlie and Leyla make up, though she encourages him to sort things out with Rory at the first opportunity. At the quiz night later, Trish is less than subtle when she cross-examines Ethan and Jacqui about their reasons for moving back to Lewisham. Ethan tells her bluntly to turn it in, arousing the mild suspicion of Castle News shop assistant Claire, who is also attending the event. Ruby finally turns up, at The Red Lion where her family are gathered, and she is greeted by them as well as old friend Rory, who is stunned to see she is heavily pregnant. Once the Brannigans have returned home, Ruby admits the truth - her dad Johnny has just been jailed for three years for similar crimes to ones he committed in the past; the courts gave him a harsher sentence this time because he reoffended. As such, Johnny cannot pay the rent and so he has voided the tenancy agreement, meaning Ruby is effectively homeless, and that is why she is back in Lewisham. Later, Yasmin is alone with Ruby and tries to get her to open up. However, her bullish attitude repels Ruby, who stroms out of the house in protest. After the quiz night has ended, Steven is strolling along when Rory gets off a London bus following a night out, and the two get talking. Steven encourages him to sort things out with Charlie, but Rory tells him he'd rather talk to him. But before their conversation goes any further, Rory notices Ruby walking towards them aimlessly across the road. He calls out to her but she does not respond, even though she is making eye contact with them, she is not focusing on the road. Another London bus is heading straight for her. Panicked, Rory rushes over to her and pulls her on to the pavement. A worried Ruby lands on her pregnant stomach, causing considerable concern. The episode ends with Steven trying to keep things calm, phoning for an ambulance Episode Cast (in order of appearance) *Leyla Westaway (Louise Redknapp) *Charlie Westaway (Darren Day) *Michael Brannigan (Chris Chittell) *Linda Brannigan (Linda Robson) *Trish Castle (Ellen Thomas) *Darcus Castle (Don Warrington) *Perry Castle (Miles Butler-Hughton) *Ethan Castle (Richard Blackwood) *Amanda Carwell (Amanda Redman) *Steven Carwell (James Sutton) *Jess Westaway (Hollie Steel) *Rory Westaway (Frank Roome) *Yasmin Brannigan (Nicola Stapleton) *Maria Nowak (Michelle Collins) *Alex Mercer (Neil McDermott) *Izzie Carwell (Georgia May Foote) *Castle Jacqui Castle (Jaime Winston) *Bella Westaway (Dog - Uncredited) *Ruby Brannigan (Danielle Harold) *Doris Carwell (Gwen Taylor) *Vik Nowak (David Easter) *Arthur Brannigan (Michael Jayston) *Shirley Wilkins (Ann Mitchell) *Claire Learner (Catherine Tate) Episode Locations (in order of appearance) *The Red Lion main bedroom *Brannigan kitchen *Castle News (shop area) *Carwell living room *The Red Lion living room *Brannigan living room *The Red Lion living room *Nosh (shop area) *Catford Academy (ext.) *Nosh (ext.) *Riverbank *The Red Lion (bar area) *Castle house hallway, Castle house living room *The Red Lion (bar area) *Carwell kitchen *The Red Lion kitchen *Nowak kitchen, Nowak living room *Brannigan living room *The Red Lion (bar area) *Brannigan living room *Call The Shots (bar area) *Castle flat living room *The Red Lion living room *The Red Lion (ext.), Albion Street bus stop (northbound) Episode Notes *Leyla and Charlie Westaway are the first and second characters to speak and appear, in that order *The first scene is set at six o'clock (AM) - the same time the show is broadcast (PM) *The first line, spoken by Leyla, is "The Avenue!", a reference to a boyband from The X Factor *When the alarm goes off in the first scene, the song playing is 'LDN' by Lily Allen. LDN is a truncated form of the word 'London'. The song plays on Radio Thames. This is a fictional station - there is a Thames Radio and a Thames FM, but no Radio Thames! *In Scene 5, when Leyla is hoovering, the song 'Ruby' by the Kaiser Chiefs plays out on the radio. This is an in-joke and foreshadowing reference to Ruby Brannigan, who appears later in the episode April 2020 Episodes • Fri 3rd • Mon 6th • Tue 7th • Thu 9th • Fri 10th • Mon 13th • Tue 14th • Thu 16th • Fri 17th • Mon 20th • Tue 21st • Thu 23rd • Fri 24th • Mon 27th • Tue 28th • Thu 30th